An ongoing review of politics and culture

Despite turning in early on Saturday, I woke up with one of those head colds that makes you convinced that somewhere, some secretive organization, perhaps the Dharma Initiative, must be working on polar bear/mac truck hybrids, because only an attack by such a creature could satisfactorily explain how it is you feel. (Let’s just say I finally watched this week’s episode of Lost a few hours ago and, at the end, felt no more mush-brained than when I started.) It’s one of those especially annoying bouts of sickness in which I can’t really sleep, but I can’t concentrate on anything for more than a few seconds, perhaps a minute (it’s taken me 25 minutes or so to write this), so, say, reading anything more than headlines and intro paragraphs is completely out of the question. Nothing left to do except sit here, glazed over, drinking tea, catching up on semi-undemanding television and browsing new music. But that means that I can recommend Rafter to you, especially “Chances” and “zzzpenchant.” Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, who may be local (confusingly, they list their location as Washington, D.C./San Francisco, which may, in fact, be the location of the Lost island), struck my fancy as well. I haven’t decided what exactly to make of Zs – the album sounds like a cross between late Joan of Arc, The Flying Luttenbachers , and the experimental jazz soundtrack to Lost Highway — but it’s certainly interesting (though right now they’re, ah, interesting enough that my brain, which I am convinced is slowly melting and dripping out various orifices, is not even remotely able to handle them).

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Thao (Nguyen) grew up in Annandale and went to college in VA, so yes, local.